Field Notes
The Choices That Keep Us Stuck
We often say we want change while continuing to make choices that preserve our current circumstances. A recent offer of help challenged me to confront perfectionism, ask clearly for what...
The Choices That Keep Us Stuck
We often say we want change while continuing to make choices that preserve our current circumstances. A recent offer of help challenged me to confront perfectionism, ask clearly for what...
The Hard Work of Being Patient
Hard work has never been my problem. But becoming exceptional at something may require a different kind of discipline: choosing one thing, allowing everything else to remain unfinished, and giving...
The Hard Work of Being Patient
Hard work has never been my problem. But becoming exceptional at something may require a different kind of discipline: choosing one thing, allowing everything else to remain unfinished, and giving...
What If No One Comes?
I’ve always been proud of my ability to push through. But after a 90-degree day, 105 five-gallon buckets, and a moment when my body simply wouldn’t cooperate, I was left...
What If No One Comes?
I’ve always been proud of my ability to push through. But after a 90-degree day, 105 five-gallon buckets, and a moment when my body simply wouldn’t cooperate, I was left...
Until the Water Ran Clear
Two glasses of water from the same Iowa well look dramatically different after one passes through a gravity-fed filter I built myself. But the real lesson came from washing 300...
Until the Water Ran Clear
Two glasses of water from the same Iowa well look dramatically different after one passes through a gravity-fed filter I built myself. But the real lesson came from washing 300...
Evidence of Progress
A few small moments last week—a compost bioreactor, mushrooms in a customer’s lawn, and a jar of homemade sauerkraut—gave me something I don’t always stop long enough to feel: pride....
Evidence of Progress
A few small moments last week—a compost bioreactor, mushrooms in a customer’s lawn, and a jar of homemade sauerkraut—gave me something I don’t always stop long enough to feel: pride....
The Gift of Receiving
Receiving kindness can be harder than giving it. A thoughtful gift from the Iowa Children’s Museum reminded me that accepting generosity without immediately trying to repay it may be a...
The Gift of Receiving
Receiving kindness can be harder than giving it. A thoughtful gift from the Iowa Children’s Museum reminded me that accepting generosity without immediately trying to repay it may be a...